Maruti to set up driving institutes in Bihar, Odisha

The country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India has joined hands with the Bihar government to set up the first Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR) in eastern India.Two more such centres would be set up in Odisha.

The company has already signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the two state governments, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) General Manager (Driving Training) Mahesh Rajouria told PTI. The three centres would be set up in the PPP model and will train around 60,000 people every year, he said.

“We are happy to expand our driving training and road safety initiatives in partnership with states like Bihar. In addition to driving training, we will also provide strategic support to the government for implementation of road safety plan in the state,” Rajoura said.

In Bihar, the company will set up the facility on a 15-acre plot in Aurangabad.

MSI and the state government inked the agreement in April this year and construction is likely to start post-monsoon.

Asked when the centre would start functioning in Bihar, Rajouria said “Usually it takes 12-15 months. Therefore it is expected to be operational by the end of 2014.”

In Odisha, the centres would be set up at Bhubaneswar and Koraput on 15 acres of land each. “Our MoU with Commerce & Transport Ministry of Odisha was signed in April… We expect these to be ready by late next year around October,” Rajouria said. He said each centre would be able to train 20,000 people every year.

MSI has around 30 driving schools operating in the eastern region in cities like Patna, Guwahati, Shillong, Cuttack, Ranchi, Dhanbad, Imphal and Siliguri that offer learner and refresher courses. It has a total of 290 such schools in the country.

The company presently operates IDTRs in six locations in the country – two each in Haryana and Delhi, one each in Uttarakhand and Gujarat. (PTI)